1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a page dividing technique for use in printing a continuous document which is continuously written, without the concept of pages like an HTML document, using a device, such as a page printer, for outputting in units of pages.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a continuously written document without the concept of the concept of pages, such as an HTML document, is printed using a page printer for outputting in units of pages, generally, a printer driver or a print server in a host computer divides the printing document into pages to thereby create print data to be supplied to a printer for printing. Conventionally, this page dividing is performed according to a page dividing method built into a program being used.
A print controller disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Hei 10-74265 performs page dividing according to a fixed dividing method which relies on a page dividing policy such that original positional images should be maintained and that dividing of a rendering object should be prevented.
However, such a fixed page dividing method offered by a program does not always satisfy everyone's needs. For example, some users may wish to use the smallest possible number of sheets for printing in order to save costs, while others may wish to print in good appearance with the least possible dividing of an image. A conventional printer or printer driver does not fully satisfy a user's potential demand.